Irresistible Grilled Chicken Wings

These grilled chicken wings is probably the only food over which we fight in our family. I kid you not. They are irresistible. Any leftovers are closely watched by every family member. They are pre-divided and claimed. An uneven number of leftover wings results in passionate disputes over who gets to get an extra wing. I am telling you, these grilled chicken wings are the best, you won’t need another grilled wing recipe.

For a long time I’ve been a fan of smoked wings, but grilled chicken wings make a heck of a competition. Marinated in an excellent marinade and properly grilled, they turn out just as juicy as smoked wings. If you throw in a couple of chunks of cherry wood just before you load chicken wings on the grill you will get some of that smoky flavor too. And the beautiful dark red color. But there is more. Grilled chicken wings come out crispy-skinned, with beautifully caramelized surface. You can’t replicate that. This is where grilled wings truly shine.

The marinade for grilled wings is important. If it tastes great, the wings will do too. I recently experimented with Bulgogi-Style Marinated Chicken Wings and loved the results. A bad marinade will kill the wing taste. Sugary marinade will make it very hard to grill wings without burning them. Keep sugars to a minimum or don’t use at all.

My preference is to grill chicken wings on a charcoal grill. It gives me more flavor and a crispier skin. If I want some smoky flavor I will just throw a couple of wood chunks on each side of the fire pit. When grilling on a charcoal grill, make sure there is no flame, only red-hot glowing coals. That’s critical to getting beautiful caramelization and crispiness on chicken wings without charring them. That’s my subjective opinion. Objectively speaking though, both charcoal and gas grills are capable of producing a very good product.

Instructions

Combine all ingredients for the marinade in a large Ziploc bag. Close the bag and shake really well.

Add the chicken wings, close the bag and massage the wings really well to ensure good coverage. Expel as much air as you can, close bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight and up to 24 hours.

Preheat an outdoor grill to about 350F-400F.

Remove the chicken wings from the marinade and pat dry with a paper towel.

Brush the preheated grill grate with cooking oil to prevent sticking. I give it a quick wipe with a piece of paper towel soaked in vegetable oil. The grill is hot so be very careful and wear a heat resistant glove.

Cook the chicken wings on the preheated grill, lid closed, for about 10-15 minutes on each side, until the meat is nicely browned and the juices run clear (see my notes). You may want to use an instant read thermometer if not sure. The wings are ready when the temperature in the thickest parts registers at least 165F.

Notes

Soy sauce - Not all soy sauces are created equal. Until recently I thought all soy sauces were the same and the only difference was regular sodium vs low sodium varieties. For this recipe I strongly suggest using a combination of dark and light Chinese soy sauces. Dark soy sauce lends the food sweetness, color, and flavor, whereas light soy sauce provides flavor and saltiness. If all you have is dark soy sauce, use that in place of light soy. Regular (neither dark nor light) soy sauce can be used as a substitute but the flavor will be impacted.

Grilling - Some cooks prefer grilling chicken wings turning them frequently, until they are done. My preferred method that works really well for me is as follows:

1. Load the wings on the pre-heated grill and close the lid2. Grill on one side for 10-15 minutes3. Open the lid, flips the wings on the other side. If your grill has hot spots, rearrange the wings by moving more browned wings to a less hot area of the grill. Close the lid4. Continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes5. Remove from the grill and enjoy

I like grilling chicken wings this way because it requires less tending and the temperature stays stable. Cooking on a charcoal grill this way also lets me avoid flareups and temperature fluctuations.

On my Big Green Egg grill the wings are ready after 20 minutes of grilling, 10 minutes per side. I do, however, like extending the grilling time to about 12-15 minutes per side. This way the wings come out more crispy, and the meat inside becomes more fall-off-the-bone tender. The meat is, perhaps, slightly less juicy, just a bit, but that does not really impact the taste as chicken wings are much more forgiving to overcooking.

I am super excited to try this recipe. However, I am having a hard time finding dark and light soy sauces. When asking for help at the grocery store the only thing they know about it is that there is regular and reduced sodium. Can you please tell me brands/names of the light and the dark?

I buy mine at T&T, a large local Asian grocery store chain. They have own brand which is what I buy, see the picture below. But I recall them having a variety of different brands of dark and light soy sauce. Most Asian grocery stores will have them, regular stores probably won’t. If you can’t find them, try Amazon, like these Dark soy sauce and light soy sauce. Otherwise use regular, non-low sodium soy sauce.

Damn these wings are good. I marinade chicken all the time with several different recipes in my head. This time I tried something new (your recipe) it’s amazing how a few different ingredients here and there can make all the difference in the world. Great marinade my family loved it! Thanks I’ll be using it again & highly recommend it to everyone!

Oh yea, Classic Buffalo Hot Sauce for the win. Indeed, a bad marinade will kill the wing taste. There was once I the marinade didn’t turned out to be as flavorful as what I expected to be, in the end, people who eat the wings just had to dip in chili sauce just to give it some taste. that is how bad it is.

Good question. Since the wings will be marinated for a while, they will become well-seasoned, no need to worry about it to much. Now, I find that pat drying is important for proper caramelization. Wet wings will have a hard time crisping up and caramelizing. When I pat dry I try to make them as dry as I can, but without rubbing off a lot of the seasonings.

Thank you for the feedback, Maria. I am not familiar with the soy sauces you use, but if the wings turned out too salty you need to reduce the amount of salt. Yeah, I know, Captain Obvious here. Start by removing the 1 tsp of kosher salt from the recipe the next time. If that is still too salty, substitute half the soy sauce with low sodium soy sauce, it’s widely available.

Better yet, try to find the dark soy sauce. It’s available at virtually any Asian grocery store. Amazon sells it too. Lee Kum Kee Dark Soy Sauce available on Amazon is very good. Dark soy sauce is different from regular soy in that it’s less salty. It’s a LOT less salty compared to light soy sauce. Light soy sauce is amber in color, is clearer and thinner… but it is also saltier…. Dark soy sauce has a deeper color and more body. It’s less salty and used in relatively greater quantities. Seems like a little thing, but it makes the dish or breaks it.

If you get the right amount of salt no matter how long you marinade the wings won’t be too salty. As a matter of fact, I marinated some wings a couple of weeks ago and could not get to grilling them for 4 days. They were no saltier than usually. And super tender. I may start marinating them for longer on purpose.